This is a question that was asked in the satsang with Sri Sri in the Bangalore ashram. Enjoy!

Q: What are the three types of dhrutis that Lord Krishna mentions in the 18th chapter of Gita?

Sri Sri:Dhruti means that which upholds or sustains life. For many people, the mind goes hay wire, They cannot even sustain or tolerate a small insult. A little bit of imperfection they cannot tolerate. Sattvic dhruti is that which sustains the mind, life energy, and activities of the senses. That which helps you to be steadfast in your yoga. Not like one day you do yoga and next you go for bhoga. Not like that. That which upholds your senses, your life is sattvic dhruti. Rajasic dhruti is of the type when I get results then I will deliver. This sort of mindset where your enthusiasm is related to some little reward is rajasic dhruti. It could be related to Dharma or it may not be related. Any work that is taken with the intention of getting results, such as fasting to achieve some results. What is God going to get is you fast? Tamasic dhruti is one who sleeps a lot. That is most important for them. Nothing else. Very fearful. You look at their face, they are always down, depressed.If you cannot get married, you are upset. You get married, you are upset. This is tamasic dhruti. Always regretful. That should not have happened. I should have had like that. After 40 years of marriage, they think they should have married someone else. And arrogance. And one is unable to get of this negativity in the mind. Some people try to get out of it, but they are not able to get out of it. Lazy people, who can sleep anywhere, any time. In Kerela, I heard about a person that he can sleep at the dining table while he eats. Once I stayed at such a person’s home. That person’s servant, told me that my Master falls asleep while talking! Doctor said lets do a scan. A few years ago, the CT Scan was a new machine. He went for the scan. The doctors were wondering why is the machine making so much noise. He slept in the scanning machine and was snoring!This happens when you do not have any aim in life. Often Ashrams are the base for lazy people. But we do not have this issue. In Ashrams, there is a issue about how to keep people busy. If you keep doing some activity, then you will not get lazy. One who is lazy, gets scared easily. Then behind fear, comes negative thoughts such as who will cremate me when I die, who will take care of me when I grow old. Some one will complete the cremation rights. Man is mad. If you do not want to leave the madness, then be mad for that which has made all these things not for the things made by Him. Then after this comes vishaad: they think about what happened many years ago and get upset. People will reach Mumbai from Bangalore, and then they will continue to say we should have booked another ticket. Vishaad has become a habit. A person who is enthusiastic and happy, they will not go into vishaad.

Then comes ego. People are in vishaad, often walk with arrogance. Have you seen the people who lost the elections? A wrestler falls and then he says there is no mud on my mustache, where have I fallen? One who cannot come out from a negative mindset. Now we have to see what type of dhruti we have: sattvic, rajasic, tamasic.

How to get out of this? Do seva, sadhana, satsang. Tamas gets converted to Rajasic and then to Sattva. If you are surrounded by Tamasic people then you will have more of that type of dhruti. Often kids say, throughout my life, no one has done anything for me. The way you behave in front of kids affects kids also. If you are in Tamo guna or rajas guna, then kids catch on to it very fast. Similarly, when four people get together, and one person says something negative and everyone else contributes negativity, then after half an hour when people go home they are so tired.

How to transform from Tamasic dhruti?

This path: Seva, Sadhana, satsang, right company.Like dhrutis, doers are also of three types. Sattvic doer is happy whether work happens or not. Rajasic doer is happy if work gets done and unhappy when the work does not get done.Tamasic doer is one who does not know what they have to do. And they are in vishaad.

A Friend of mine forwarded this about the entropy levels at the Art of Living ashram or any spiritual place in general. I have heard of entropy only in thermodynamics. Never expected it to be used to determine the level of disorder in the universe! That is interesting. In simple words, the level of entropy simple tells the level of disorder or confusion or chaos that is there in the energy system. The higher the level of entropy the more the chaos is and lower the entropy the more harmonious it is. So here is a question that is asked by a devotee during satsang (gathering together to uplift each other spiritually by singing, dancing, listening to knowledge, etc) to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and his answer is amazing.

Q: Gurudev, for the first time, scientists have been able to capture and record sounds from the depths of the Universe. Those sounds resemble that of the birds chirping at dawn, and they are mixed with the sounds from the Sun. It all seems very astonishing and fascinating. Please tell us what secret this is.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:Nature is a gold mine of such secrets. So many kinds of secrets lay hidden in the lap of Mother Nature.

A great scientist had visited the Ashram(Art of Living’s International Ashram in Bangalore) just day before yesterday. He brought a titanium radar along with him to measure the energy of the Ashram. He told me that the readings in the city were around 3.5 for the entropy (a scientific term signifying the degree of disorder or random movement of particles or objects in space). When he came to the Ashram, the reading fell to 0.5 (indicating a peaceful and stable environment). He also found that at the time of Satsang and the Purnaahuti (the peak moment of final offering to the sacrificial fire of a ritual), the reading fell to zero for a few moments! A zero reading means coming into contact, or being completely in the presence of God!

He told me that he had never witnessed such a thing before in his whole life. He said that the radar showed Zero entropy at those times. He was very fascinated with this. He conducted a thorough scientific study with the titanium radar for one whole hour. He said that the atmosphere of the Ashram is so peaceful and has such positive vibrations. He said that there is so much harmony here because the entropy readings are so low (higher entropy values correspond to more chaos and disorderly wave vibrations in the environment). He said that where the entropy is less, there is more orderliness and harmony. He said that in the city, the entropy value is 3.5.

In the same way, scientists today are able to determine where there is a greater presence of Divinity (positive vibrations and harmony). We anyway experience this when we are here. I have heard many people tell me that the moment they step foot in the Ashram, their entire state of mind becomes so positive. How many people have had this experience? (Many in the audience raise hands)

So, Nature is very mysterious!

So the next time you want to be more peaceful, calmer and more harmonious with your self and nature – you know where to go!

CNN’s Richard Quest goes to Bangalore, INDIA to soak into the Spiritual bliss and vibes of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at his ashram. An interesting video from the program on the man they call “Guruji” and about the Art of Living Foundation. Here Sri Sri talks about the secrets of breath, how the breath is linked to the mind based on the rhythms and emotions. Richard Quest takes the Basic Art of Living course and I think he likes it 🙂 He says that he is positively sure that he was floating when he was taking the Ayurveda treatment! Ha ha!

I love the part where Sri Sri Ravi Shankar talks about how even though the knowledge in the Art of Living has got its roots in Hinduism but he has made it secular in a sense that people from all religions have no problem understanding or following it. He also says that only secular spiritualism can unite people from all over the world. This is awesome!

Richard takes part in the silver jubilee celebration of the Art of Living foundation. He sits with Sri Sri on the stage with 3800 more other dignitaries and enjoys the satsang – music and dance.

The last words of Richard is really touching. He says – “As human beings, we are driven to explore;explain the inexplicable. Our intelligence means that at times we are doomed to suffer in a turmoil, despair, disillusionment but answers are forth coming. Whatever our religious beliefs are, spirituality is rooted in ideals of human nature. Being a better person. Breathing exercises, meditation and breath – they all help us open our mind;take stock of who we are. Put Life back into perspective. And lets face it, most of us could do a little but of that! Between you and me, it has just begun!”

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Saha nav avatu, Saha nau bhunaktu, Saha viryam karavavahi: Tejasvi nav adhitam astu: ma vidvisavahai; Aum Santih, Santih, Santih - May He protect us both; may He be pleased with us both; may we work together with vigor; may our study make us illumined; may there be no dislike between us. Aum, peace, peace, peace.

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Aravind Venkatachalam

is a senior software engineer living in the Bay area. He is a devotee of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and volunteers for the Art of Living Foundation. He uses this blog to share his ideas on ancient wisdom from the Puranas and from Sri Sri along with many other stories and juicy stuff!!